Mayfield Junior School: Curriculum Spotlight – Science Fair Achievement
The Middle School Science program at Mayfield Junior School encourages creativity, critical thinking and discovery. In the winter seventh graders are challenged to design and conduct a science project that used the scientific method and then to organize their results in a science fair presentation format including written and oral elements. Over the course of a two-day science fair on campus, theory, process and results were presented to visitors and to judges in 5-10 minute interviews. “One of our goals at Mayfield is to have kids discover how science is everywhere,” explains science teacher Mark Pattullo. With projects applying scientific method to question everything from the cleanliness of a dog’s tongue to the added velocity of swim caps to swimming, students really took the challenge outside the box.
Recently in a brief ceremony, the seventh graders were recognized for their 2016 Science Fair projects. Every student was awarded a certificate in their specific field and six students were awarded medals with special recognition for their efforts in the following categories:
Dedication to Inquiry
Camilla Nelson
Isabella Gerhardt
Excellence in Scientific Presentation
Sofia Gonzalez
Excellence in Scientific Research
Eliza Jacobs
Excellence in Experimental Design
Joe Adams
Sophia Cotman
Additionally, some great news from the Los Angeles County Science Fair was announced. Several MJS participants received honorable mention and Sophia Cotman placed third in the Aero/Hydro Dynamics field for her project “Swim Caps: Do they Really Make You Faster?” Joe Adams placed first in his category (Materials Science) for his project “A Project on Acoustic Physics With Household Materials,” qualifying him for the California State Science Fair in May. Joe was also honored by the ASM Materials Education Foundation as the recipient of its “Most Outstanding Exhibit in Materials Science” award and nominated for the “2016 Broadcom MASTERS, a program of Society for Science & the Public.” This qualifies him to compete at the national level.
Mayfield Junior School, 405 South Euclid Ave., Pasadena, (626) 796-2774 or visit www.mayfieldjs.org.